The Living Tree

Kabini, India Volume Zero Competition

Tree house (noun): A structure built FROM the branches of a tree. This tree house is a living one made from living, shaped willow trees. Rhino and Lumion.

In order to build the arboreal frame, we utilize Tree Shaping - a practice of training living trees and woody plants into artistic shapes by carefully orchestrating how the tree and the branches grow. A living structure is grafted into shape with prefabricated CNC cut Wooden jigs which would be placed at key portions of young saplings in order to guide the formation of the walls and roof.

Tree trunks form the load bearing structure to which a weave of pleached branch 'studs' support a thermal clay and straw-based infill. A dense layer of vines and other plants would be grown to reinforce the exterior and coated with pine tar to make the structure water and fire resistant. The trees that form the frame and the plants that grow on the external walls are meant to provide sustenance for the inhabitants and other living creatures who interact with the structure. Instead of being just environmental friendly, the structures would naturally blend in with surrounding ecosystems.